Hailing from Montreal, Canada, Islands is a 6 piece band founded in 2005 by The Unicorns co-founder/songwriter Nick Thorburn (often performing as "Nick Diamonds") and drummer J'Aime Tambeur. Following the untimely disbandment of The Unicorns as they teetered on the brink of breaking through, Islands' debut release entitled Return to the Sea, with its quirky sounds and refreshing, catchy melodies includes collaborations with members of Arcade Fire and Wolf Parade. This debut picks up where The Unicorns left off and takes the music to new heights without departing from The Unicorns' unique if sometimes peculiar appeal.
Islands plays beautiful pop melodies, intertwined with elements of afro-pop, hip hop, and indie rock, among others. One of the main gimmicks of the band is the recorder brought over from The Unicorns, which is prominently featured in the song "Jogging Gorgeous Summer." Nick Diamonds rules over the band with an iron fist. Other members include: Patrice Agbokou, Aaron Harris, Alex Chow, Sebastian Chow, and Patrick Gregoire. Return To the Sea, their rookie effort, was released on April 4th, 2006 on the brand new label, Equator Records, and Rough Trade in the UK. Digital Distribution handled by Alpha Pup.
On May 20, 2008, Islands released its second album, Arm's Way, on Anti- Records.
On September 22, 2009 Islands released their third full length album, Vapours.
On February 14, 2012 Islands released their fourth full length album, A Sleep & A Forgetting.
On September 17, 2013 Islands released their fifth full length album, Ski Mask
On May 13, 2016 Islands released their sixth and seventh full length albums, Should I Remain Here, At Sea? and Taste.
Pieces Of You
Islands Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Are hemorrhaging on everything
They found your bones in the homes of a thousand little gnomes
Who'd taken pieces for decoration
They'd opened up their mouths, seemed like peaceful little mouths
Inside they found a mouthful of pieces
They wanted pieces of you
Pieces of you
Pieces of you
Somebody died here, I hear it was you
They loved the attention they got from killing you
The capillaries of the community
Are hemorrhaging on everything
The capillaries of the community
Are hemorrhaging on everything
They put their fingers in your sockets
If you could hear the way they talk
It's madness
What they got out of your pockets
A couple coins, a key for locking its sadness in your face
But they wanted pieces of you
Pieces of you
Pieces of you
Pieces of you
Pieces of you from pieces of you
Pieces of you
Pieces of you from pieces of you
Pieces of you
Little birds collapse in your arms
Break it into two
Beat a man to death with their hands
Did they regret anything?
It's a cold, cold world we swam into
It's a cold, cold water we sank into
The lyrics to "Pieces Of You" by Islands are deeply introspective and paint a picture of a community that is decaying from the inside out. The "capillaries of the community" are symbolized as bleeding and dying, showing the fragility of human relationships when they are built on selfish desires. This idea is brought to life with the imagery of a thousand little gnome figurines that have taken small pieces of a person to decorate their homes. The song suggests that people are all too willing to take advantage of each other for personal gain, regardless of the harm it causes.
The song also touches on the harsh reality of death and the idea that some people may even enjoy the attention that comes from it. The line "They loved the attention they got from killing you" hints at the idea that some people are willing to go to extremes to satisfy their own twisted desires, even if it means taking someone else's life. This is further emphasized with the image of the "little birds" who are so consumed by their own instincts that they "beat a man to death with their hands".
Line by Line Meaning
The capillaries of the community
The small parts of the society that are connected are failing
Are hemorrhaging on everything
They are causing damage to everything they touch
They found your bones in the homes of a thousand little gnomes
The people took pieces of you and kept them as decoration
Who'd taken pieces for decoration
They took parts of you to use as ornaments
They'd opened up their mouths, seemed like peaceful little mouths
They appeared to be innocent, but really they were hiding something
Inside they found a mouthful of pieces
They had taken many parts of you
They wanted pieces of you
They desired parts of you
Somebody died here, I hear it was you
Someone was killed and it is believed to be you
They loved the attention they got from killing you
The killers enjoyed the attention they received after taking a life
They put their fingers in your sockets
They touched your body in inappropriate ways
If you could hear the way they talk
If you could hear how they speak about you
It's madness
It is insane
What they got out of your pockets
The things they took from you
A couple coins, a key for locking its sadness in your face
They found only a few insignificant possessions
Pieces of you from pieces of you
They took parts of you and made it into something new
Little birds collapse in your arms
Birds that you cared for have died in your arms
Break it into two
Destroy it completely
Beat a man to death with their hands
They killed someone with their bare hands
Did they regret anything?
Did they feel any remorse?
It's a cold, cold world we swam into
The world is unfriendly and difficult
It's a cold, cold water we sank into
We have found ourselves in a difficult and challenging situation
Contributed by Gianna Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
boogerpoop
Me gusta!
Autoctonal
great band
robert theberge
Fuck off god this song is still so good. I love this album.
PinkAndOrangeAndGold
\o/
khire blackheart
franza ferdinand stole their tricks from this band¿?
TristenNashMusic
Great stoner music.
Marina Scheinberg
Not bad but damn it I want The Unicorns!!
noah martin
We all do man....we all do